Warriors hold on to win Alcorn tournament

CORINTH – Corinth survived a bout of sluggish offensive play late Saturday to escape Crossroads Arena with its seventh consecutive Alcorn County Tournament championship.
Behind the 23-point scoring effort of 6-foot-5 post player Raheem Sorrell, the Warriors knocked off battling Biggersville 78-69 in overtime.
“We fought through it, even though we struggled at the end,” Sorrell said. “We pulled it out; we got it.”
Corinth (13-4) led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but watched the Lions come roaring back to tie the score at 65-65 in regulation.
“At one time, our lead went from 12 to 4 quick,” Corinth coach Keith Greene said. “From that point on it was a wild finish.”
Jaylon Gaines scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to pace Biggersville (13-6).
end of regulation
The Lions’ big gun, guard Daniel Simmons, made the final basket in regulation with a steal and layup. He finished with a game-high 34 points.
Corinth found its shooting touch again in the overtime period. Jose Contreras and Darius Gaines hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Jazz Garner sank a 15-foot jumper from the key to give the Warriors the edge.
Corinth outscored Biggersville 13-4 in OT.
Garner finished with 17 points and Gaines 11.
(G) Kossuth 51, Alcorn Central 37: Baylee Turner scored 18 points and Parish Tice added 14 to lead the Lady Aggies to their first county title since 2010.
Turner, a junior guard, scored 10 points in the second half. Her 3-point play with 1:05 remaining sealed the win.
“These are the hardest working kids I’ve coached in 30 years,” Kossuth first-year coach Rick Howell said of his team.
Kossuth (11-6) led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter behind a 9-point effort from Tice, a sophomore guard. However, Alcorn Central rallied in the fourth quarter and cut the Lady Aggies’ lead to 37-30.
“I think maybe we thought we had it,” Tice said.
Alcorn Central (8-8) rallied behind Alex Medahar and Kayla Massengill, who combined for 14 second-half points.
gene.phelps@journalinc.com